Even a cursory spin of Miguel's latest album Wildheart reveals some basic, consistently held truths of the artist behind this sensory experience — specifically the notion that a determined rejection of what exactly is implied within the word (and inherent concept) "normal" is fundamental in achieving a balanced existence. In fact, Miguel expresses this directly in a string of recent interviews surrounding Wildheart's continued dominance.
"Let’s start with this," Miguel tells Absolute Punk. "'What’s normal anyway' is the spine of the record. The journey of being wild-hearted starts with knowing the answers to a very small set of questions. And that is, what do you stand for? What do you believe in? What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you not willing to sacrifice?" Of course, these questions are asked — though not quite answered — on the album's very first track, the deceptively lowercase "a beautiful exit."
Expanding on that "spine of the record" sentiment, Miguel adds that the album should serve as an inspiration to those struggling with accepting the fact that normality is an inherently hollow ideal. "I think when we take the time in solitude to answer those questions for ourselves," says Miguel, "we also come to another question, which is — what the fuck is normal anyway? Why are we striving so hard to appease other people’s opinions of what things like happiness or success are? I say throw away any need or expectation to conform to other people’s opinions, or perspectives, because the truth is normality is farce. Normality is subjective."
Miguel recently released a 13-minute Wildheartvisual accompaniment — featuring much of his anti-normality / pro-creativity ethos in action.
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